After an MRI revealed a fracture of the navicular bone in Cody Ross‘ left foot –– despite the fact earlier X-rays didn’t reveal any broken bones –– the Red Sox will place the outfielder on the 15-day disabled list and recall Kevin Youkilis on Tuesday.
Ross now becomes the sixth Red Sox outfielder to land on the injury shelf, joining Carl Crawford (elbow), Jacoby Ellsbury (shoulder), Ryan Kalish (shoulder), Darnell McDonald (oblique) and Jason Repko (shoulder).
For the time being, the Red Sox will start Daniel Nava, Marlon Byrd and Che-Hsuan Lin in the outfield. Lin, however, is strictly regarded as a defensive specialist who is still developing at the plate.
At this point, it appears the Red Sox will have to reach back down to Pawtucket and elevate Scott Podsednik. Since joining the PawSox a week and a half ago, the veteran outfielder has been hitting .321/.355/.500 with one homer and six RBIs.
Another alternative for the Red Sox could be promoting Jose Iglesias or Pedro Ciriaco from Pawtucket –– or also start Nick Punto at shortstop –– and slide Mike Aviles out to the outfield, a position he practiced at during the offseason in Puerto Rico.
Even lower on the totem pole, Adrian Gonzalez could be a candidate to dabble in right field as he did twice against the Phillies. It could also offer the Red Sox the flexibility to pencil in Kevin Youkilis at first base, where he’s already familiar.
That way, the Red Sox could keep both Will Middlebrooks and Youkilis in the lineup together. But manager Bobby Valentine has already said that placing Gonzalez in the outfield for an extended period of time is a gamble.
“I’m not comfortable with it,” Valentine said in Philadelphia. “I’m comfortable in [his] abilities –– just the idea of lack of familiarity [makes me uncomfortable].”
Either way, it’s a tough situation for the Red Sox.
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
